Assam: Couple Beaten Over Illicit Affair, Woman's Head Shaved

In another case of horrifying moral policing, a couple was allegedly beaten up through the night and the woman's head was shaved by the villagers for having an illicit affair.  The incident happened at Jhumurmur in Assam's Nagaon district on Saturday and the severely injured couple was handed over to the police the next morning.

A police officer from the local station stated that the incident happened when the man from the bordering Tubuki village visited the woman's home in Jhumurmur village on Saturday night.

"Villagers came out in large numbers and alleged that they were in an illicit relationship. The man tried to flee but was caught by the villagers. Then both of them were thrashed by the villagers," the police officer said.

The man and the woman were originally admitted to a hospital in Kathiatoli, and later referred to the Bhogeswari Phukanani Civil Hospital at Nagaon, a police officer said. This is a third major incident of this kind in Assam.

"The police were intimated by some people during morning hours. Our team rushed to the spot and the villagers handed over them to us. They were badly injured and were admitted to a hospital," Nagaon district Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ripul Das told PTI. He said the police will register a case after the preliminary investigation.

"The woman's head was shaved by other women of the village. Their clothes were torn and they were tortured through the night. The villagers informed the police only during the early hours in the morning," he added.

The villagers claimed that both were married and they were cheating on their respective spouses, the police officer said.

Earlier on June 8, two friends, Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath, had gone to a picnic spot at Kangthilangso waterfalls under Dokmoka police station in Karbi Anglong. While returning, their vehicle was stopped at Panjuri Kachari by a group of infuriated villagers, who beat them to death on suspicion of being 'Sopadhora' or child-lifters.

On  June 18, a mob attacked a couple while they were riding on a bike in Pukhurpur village of Rongjuli area in Goalpara district. The angry mob claimed they were unmarried and it was "improper" of them to move around together.

These cases of moral policing have lately been on the rise. The police needs to take severe actions against people who in lieu of outdated ideas of proper conduct harm another citizen.

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Apoorva Lamba is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv